


Northern Roses

by Cân Cennau - Emyn (cancennau)



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Bigotry & Prejudice, Conversations, Intersex Kelas Parmak, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Names, Other, Racial Bias, Romeo and Juliet References
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-04-25 02:59:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14369448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cancennau/pseuds/C%C3%A2n%20Cennau%20-%20Emyn
Summary: Elim and Kelas debate names, bias and space colonialism.





	Northern Roses

“What should I read tonight, love?” Elim asked one night, as he perused their shared bookshelf. The night was dark, and their bedroom warmly lit by diffused bedside lights and the glow of their clutter of PADDs and other technologies. Kelas was already settled in their bed, half buried under the sunset-patterned duvet, charcoal-and-white patched scales glinting in the low light as they scribbled on their PADD, engrossed in a puzzle book.

“A romance, perhaps?” Kelas offered, barely looking up from their PADD. “We bought a whole load only last week.”

“Hmm. I’m not certain I’m ready for something new… Ah!”

“What is it?”

“A Federation classic.” Elim plugged the holobook rod into his PADD and scrolled through a few of the pages. “See if you recognize this one… _What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet..._ "

“That’s _Romeo and Juliet -_ my Federation book knowledge isn’t _that_ bad.”

‘Right in one. A lovely tragedy - where our young heroine realises there’s more to a legal name than she realizes.”

“I wouldn’t say so.” Kelas hummed, and scribbled in their puzzle book. “How is a legal name more than an identifier?”

“It is more in many ways, Kelas - meanings, histories, what your parents hoped you’d be…” Elim climbed onto the bed with his book, and Kelas curled into his embrace almost immediately. “For example, Elim comes from E’hamb. Means ‘that which hears’, which I suppose is somewhat fitting. What does Kelas mean?”

“I wouldn’t know.” Kelas scratched another number into their puzzlebook. “I’ve never looked it up.”

“It’s never interested you? We spent an entire lesson at my first school figuring out the history of our names.”

“Oh, we did too. Except we used our Northern names, not our Central Belt ones.”

“Northern name?” Elim turned to them, surprised. “I thought Kelas Parmak _was_ your Northern name.”

“Oh no, love - my Northern name is _quite_ different.” Kelas laughed, self-depreciating. “My parents always told us to use our ‘proper’ names when we were outside the community. Our legal Central Belt names. I guess I never managed to stop the habit.”

“Hmm.” Elim set the book aside, now intrigued by this side of his partner. Kelas rarely talked about their heritage, too fearful of the Northern prejudice that still persisted in some parts of the Central Belt, and Elim always squirreled away any nuggets of information the old doctor provided on the topic.

“I had always assumed Northerners had Northern legal names.” Elim said, looking over at Kelas. “That your Central Belt names were nicknames.”

“Oh, no.” Kelas replied, fingering the corner of their puzzle book. “Our Northern names would out us, so to speak, and we all knew folk with Northern names didn’t get picked by the state to go to the prestigious schools, or enter the prestigious career market.”

“So you took Central Belt names?”

“Mmm. My great-grandparents were the ones to Centralize our surname. It used to be Pharh-marhch”

“Phar-marhch… It’s a nice name.”

“Not nice enough for opportunities, I’m afraid. My siblings and I all got Central names, and my parents sent us all to a prestigious Central boarding school.” Kelas snorted. “I don’t think they realised we were Northern until we all turned up chattering in Cheða.”

“Cheða? One of the Northern languages?”

“Mmm.”

Elim filed that information away in his store for Kelas, feeling a little pleased at having discovered something new about his partner. 

“Would you like me to call you by your Northern name?” he asked. “It’s important to you, I can tell.”

“Mmm. I’d like that, I think.” Kelas smiled at him, a little mischevious. “My Northern name is Rhū-chū-eltsa-chaðȳcs.”

Elim blinked. “I’m sorry, I think I lost that name in the sneezing you just did.”

Kelas elbowed him. “Very funny."

"What does it mean?" 

"It means ‘dust of the earth’ - as in death. What remains, what has been, what we become.”

“I can see your people are great fun at parties.”

“We always did have week long funeral parties.” Kelas shook their head, dislodging a few of their braids. “I was called it because I was always so serious - as if I could see all the world's miseries. I think it surprised everyone when I said I was going to study obstetrics.”

“Well, I think it’s a nice name.” Elim rolled the name around his mouth a few times. “Rhe-cwel-za-chet-acks? Rhu-cuel-sha-cit-acks?”

“Close.”

“I’ll practice.” Elim pressed a kiss to their cheek, and nuzzled their cheek. “And then I can call you by the name you like. Your _proper_ name.”

“Proper name?” Kelas turned their head, and nudged him to kiss their mouth. “That’ll take some getting used to.”

“I don’t want you to be ashamed of your heritage.”

“Thank you.” Kelas rested their forehead against Elim’s in _answar_. “But…”

“But?”

“I’d like to keep it… private. I still don’t trust that I won’t be judged for having a Northern name.”

Elim rubbed their side in sympathy. “I understand. It’ll be our private thing. Something for our family, hmm?”

“Mmm.” Kelas smiled. “I like that. _Our_ family. I’d like to have that.”

“Me too, love.”


End file.
